Center for Teacher Education

Patricia Tempesta, Interim Director

The Center for Teacher Education coordinates the several teacher preparation programs at the College and is the central source of information related to the preparation of teachers and the various state requirements for certification. The center promotes faculty development by holding seminars, workshops, and conferences for current teachers, acts as the fulcrum for new program initiatives in teacher preparation, administers externally funded grant programs, and provides instruction in education courses required of students in teacher education programs, as well as elective courses in education.

The center administers the Partnership in Teaching Program, which provides faculty and staff volunteers for the classrooms and laboratories of the local public schools --- through classroom visits, evening programs, minicourses, special events, or teacher consultations. The Partnership in Teaching Program also provides modest funding for study groups composed of Ithaca College professors and local public school teachers. The College's participation in the Access to College Education program (ACE), a consortium composed of several area colleges and numerous public schools, is also administered through the center, as is the Science and Mathematics Saturday Academy. The center collaborates with several area school districts and the Roy H. Park School of Communications in sponsoring Project Look Sharp, an initiative to help teachers integrate media literacy into the curriculum. Through the center, Ithaca College has formal partnership arrangements with two schools --- the neighboring South Hill Elementary School and the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem.

Certification Programs

Ithaca College provides programs that lead to provisional or initial and permanent or professional New York State teaching certification in a variety of disciplines. All teacher education programs are registered with the New York State Education Department. Information about certification requirements in other states is available in the Center for Teacher Education and the Office of Career Planning and Placement. New York State has reciprocal teaching certification agreements with numerous other states. Information about reciprocity is on file in the Center for Teacher Education.

Students interested in pursuing teaching as a profession are encouraged to seek out the appropriate department chair or teaching option coordinator in their school, or the Director of the Center for Teacher Education.

Ithaca does not offer a separate degree program in elementary education.

Certification is not automatic, but awarded only to students who have completed an approved teacher education program, achieved passing scores on required teacher education exams, and applied for certification from the appropriate state education department. Applications for New York State teacher certification can be submitted through the Center for Teacher Education.

All of the College's teacher education programs have been revised to meet new New York State regents' standards for teacher preparation. Students who intend to apply for certification on or after February 2, 2004, must complete the revised program.

Provisional or initial teaching certification programs are offered as follows:

School of Health Sciences and Human Performance

Health (K-12) *

Physical Education (K-12) *

Health and Physical Education (K-12) *

Teachers of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (K-12) *

School of Humanities and Sciences

Biology 7-12

Chemistry 7-12

Physics 7-12

General Science 7-12 (no new students accepted)

English 7-12

French 7-12

German 7-12

Mathematics 7-12

Mathematics-Computer Science 7-12

Mathematics-Economics 7-12

Mathematics-Physics 7-12

Social Studies 7-12

Spanish 7-12

Speech 7-12 (no new students accepted)

School of Music

Music Education (K-12)*

Performance/Music Education (K-12)*

(For students graduating after February 1, 2004, the degree becomes a B-12, birth through 12th grade.)

Provisional or Initial New York State Certification

All candidates for provisional certification must attain a satisfactory level of performance on two components of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations: the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test (LAST) and the Assessment of Teaching Skills-Written (ATS-W). Passing scores on these two tests have been established as 220 on a scale of 100 to 300. All candidates for initial certification must also successfully complete the Content Specialty Test (CST).

Information concerning testing dates, sites, and cost is available in the Office of Career Services in the Gannett Center or in the Center for Teacher Education in 217 Muller.

Permanent New York State Teaching Certification

Ithaca offers graduate degrees in teacher education in exercise and sport sciences, music, physical education, and teachers of students with speech and language disabilities. In order to meet current New York State permanent teaching certification requirements, an individual must possess a master's degree in a "functionally related area," have attained qualifying scores on the required components of the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations, and have been employed full time for two years as a teacher. All candidates with initial certification, who are seeking professional certification, must meet new certification standards. These new standards are available in the Center for Teacher Education.

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